Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Day Seven: Once...

Alot of people wonder why the USA isnt more competitive when it comes to international recurve competitons. Why the country with such a rich and storied tradition in the sport fails so miserably when matched against almost all others. It certainly has not always been this way. In the seventies and eighties, shooters like Darrell Pace and Richard Mckinney set a standard of dominance befitting a nation that had contributed so heavily to the development of modern archery. However, as with so many American sports of late, our arrogance and contentment eventually led to our being over taken by more progressive minded teams. American kids are not brought up in a culture that values the sacrifices needed to win. Rather, we teach our children that " its not about winning, its about how you play the game." That sounds great but it doesn't work if you want to compete with nations where winning is mandatory.
I worked through my daily routine yesterday morning, once again increasing my arrow count by six shots. I loved the way everything felt. Finally it seems as if Im really roundin back into proper form.
My fitness is also improving as well. Between the horible work outs with my sister and the shooting itself Im really developing my stamina once again.
My back shoulder was kinda riding up on me a tad... and for most of the workout I concentrated on drawing with it more down in the socket.
Keep watching the swimming trials btw!
-Michal

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